The corridor was a mess with beakers shattered, alarms wailing, scientists running. Lucianne and Noah sprinted toward the chaos.
At the center of it all, a man in a green hat and open button tank top was stuffing vials of rare chemicals and glittering gemstones into a sack.
He looked up, caught mid-act, and froze.
"…Uh oh. Heheh. I think I… uh… got into the wrong toilet?"
Lucianne's eyes twitched. Noah deadpanned.
Then…
BANG!
The thief tossed a flask to the ground, smoke billowing everywhere, and darted off.
"HEY!!" Lucianne shouted, and the chase was on.
The thief skidded down corridors, tripping over crates but somehow still flipping up to his feet with a wink.
Noah nearly caught him at one corner, but the thief slipped out of his jacket like a magician.
Lucianne swung a broom she grabbed off the wall, but he ducked, and it smacked Noah instead.
"YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" Noah shouted.
"You're too slow!" Lucianne shot back.
The thief laughed as he bounded over lab tables, juggling gemstones in one hand like it was a carnival act. "C'mon, is this all humanity's got? You're making me look too good!"
Just as he was about to make another escape turn
SLAM!
A hooded figure stepped out of the shadows and blocked his path with a single, deliberate motion. No words, no movement, just an oppressive presence that froze him in place.
The thief scratched the back of his head, smirking nervously.
"Well… didn't see you there, friend."
Lucianne and Noah caught up, panting hard,
"Who the hell are you!?" Lucianne barked.
"And what were you stealing!?" Noah added.
The thief raised his hands in mock surrender, still grinning.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy there, tiger. You make it sound like I'm the bad guy."
"You're raiding our labs!" Lucianne snapped.
He shrugged. "Details, details. Look, I don't mean harm, alright? I'm just… preparing. You could say I'm the type that collects treasures before the storm."
Lucianne narrowed her eyes. Something about his carefree, cocky demeanor… the mischievous glint in his eyes… it tickled her memory.
The hooded figure just stared into the thief, no one can see it but he releases a very powerful aura that only The thief can see. He just stared at the hooded figure back and looked down afterward while scratching his head. Then, he say,
"…Man, you people are everywhere. Fine, fine, I'll talk."
Lucianne and Noah demand answers. With his goofy grin and carefree shrug, the thief cheerfully declares while dramatically bowing,
"Name's Aladdin! …And yeah, I'll be fighting for the Legends in the next round."
The room falls silent. Lucianne and Noah exchange wide-eyed looks. Aladdin tilts his head innocently, then suddenly bursts out laughing.
"…Oh, wait. Was I not supposed to tell you that? Hahaha! Whoops. Guess that's my bad. Anyway, I should really get going before my partner gets mad. I'm missing warm-ups. He hates when I'm late."
He tips his hat playfully and starts walking off, leaving the pair dumbfounded.
Noah muttering,
"…We can't stop him, can we?"
Lucianne replied with a grim feeling.
"No… not without breaking the rules."
They both sigh. Aladdin skips away, whistling.
But the hooded figure remains, unmoving. His presence is calm yet heavy, as though he expected this. Lucianne narrows her eyes.
"…You haven't left. Why?"
Then the hooded figure start to talked,
"Because I have a proposal. Let me fight in the next round."
Noah looks at the Hooded figure and say,
"Are you absolutely sure that you can defeat Aladdin?"
Lucianne whispers slowly to Noah ears and asked,
"Hey… which champion of ours is this? I kinda forgot all of the champions we summoned before…."
But, the whisper was heard by the hooded figure,
"You don't need to. If I fight him on your chosen stage that favours my advantage I'll clip his wings of whimsy."
Silence. The alarms die down, leaving only the echo of his words. Lucianne and Noah glance at each other, nervous. This man radiates confidence, but also… danger.
Noah then decided since, he is already known who under the mask,
"Alright, I trust you and your ability. I thought to let you fight in the later round but you might be the perfect counter for Aladdin."
Lucianne who still don't know who he is thought Noah make a rash decision and asked Noah,
"Wait, who is this guy? Was he really the perfect counter for Aladdin?"
Noah looks at Lucianne and say,
"The Eyes Of The World"
Hearing that Lucianne immediately has her jaw wide open, realised who is the man standing in front of her.
"You are- !"
The hooded figure slowly pulls back his hood. His eyes gleam, sharp yet calm, like they've seen every ocean, every star, every secret of the earth.
The man finally smiles, a calm, knowing smile that carries both pride and melancholy.
"Enrique of Malacca. Or as they call me… Panglima Awang or Henry The Black. The first Malay servant who traveled around the world… and returned with the knowledge of it."
The silence is heavy, almost sacred. Even the hum of the lab seems to hush.
Lucianne steps back, realizing the weight of the man before her. A legend, a voyager who had walked through cultures, continents, and storms now standing here, ready to fight.
Enrinque calmly looking at them,
"Aladdin dances with whimsy. That makes him dangerous. But I have seen the world, its lies, its tricks, its beauty, and its chaos. No illusion escapes these eyes."
Looks like humanity have a good counter of the whimsiness of Aladdin but somewhere in the fairy tale side,
Aladdin goes back to the castle where he needs to meet "partners" or that's what he called while the "partners" just see him as a client.
Aladdin enters a room filled with sexy belly dancers dancing on the side, on the big bed in the room filled with women lying sleeping, even hugging a blue anthropomorphic creature with a unicorn horn, golden chains and wearing sunglasses. At the end of the creature's legs is a teapot. The creature is The Teapot Genie who met Hans Grimm before and Aladdin is his client.
"Hey G, I raid their base-" Aladdin tries to tell Genie the information he just got from raiding the underground lab.
But he immediately being Cut off,
"Shut up, Boy. I'm trying to sleep with these bitches" says the Genie.
"B-But it might be crucial information for the next roun-" Aladdin insisted.
But, he immediately gets zapped by the genie. He then fell to the ground and before he closed his eyes, he saw the glimpse of his beloved princess, Princess Badroulbadour or what he called Moon.
"Moon… my beloved moon…."
Then, Everything in the point of view of Aladdin faded to nothingness.
Lucianne reading a message,
"…He wants to meet us? In person?"
The message came from a letter with an invitation marked with the seal of the World Government.
Noah who is holding the letter still feels in dilemma whether they want to go or not.
Before she could think further, Lapu-Lapu's deep voice cut through.
"I'll go with you. If Roland has summoned you, it's not to shake hands—it's to tighten chains. You're humanity's card, Noah. And governments love nothing more than control."
Noah shook his head, fixing Lapu-Lapu with a calm but stubborn gaze.
"I appreciate it… but this is something I need to handle myself. If the world wants answers, they'll hear them straight from me—not from someone guarding my back."
Lapu-Lapu frowned, clearly displeased, but he gave a solemn nod.
"Might be a bad idea but you already meet with the Grimms face-to-face before so, maybe this time it wouldn't be any different."
Noah looks at Lapu-Lapu with calm and confident smile,
"Thank you for trusting me, Lapu-Lapu. Don't worry I will be fine."
Noah and Lucianne finally decide to go with the invitation of the world president and quickly ride into a beat up Toyota Corolla and go to the location coordinate given in the letter.
The camp was surrounded by tanks, soldiers, and drones circling above. At the center, a large command tent awaited. Inside, President Roland sat at the head of a steel table, his crisp suit surrounded by generals. His cold eyes scanned Noah and Lucianne the moment they entered.
Roland with a cold eyes staring at both of the scientist in front of him,
"Didn't expect you two "saviors" actually accept my invitation, did I need to serve any type of drink? Any finance wine bottles or do you even drink wine?
Noah who already can feel anger crawling under his skin, hearing the sarcasm from the president but he quickly get calmed and say,
"Cut the sarcasm Mister President. Just straight to the point and do not waste our time. We have humanity to save."
President Rolland then let out a small chuckle, "save huh…?". Meanwhile both Lucianne and Noah don't show any expression and are still calm.
The president then continued but this time without the sarcasm,
"You've been reckless, Noah. Musashi may have won, but the world bleeds. Every loss, every scar, every casualty is magnified. Humanity's extinction will be on your hands if you fail. Do you understand the weight you carry?"
Noah stood still, his hands in his lab-coat pockets, eyes half-lidded with disinterest. Lucianne, tense at his side, felt the President's words like barbs piercing her chest.
Lucianne (murmuring, trying to ground Noah),
"…Don't let him get under your skin."
Roland slammed a hand on the steel table, the sound reverberating through the tent like a gunshot.
Roland finally snapped,
"Answer me! This tournament isn't just a game, it's the survival of our species! You walk into these battles like it's a stage for your ego against the Grimms, when in reality, billions depend on your choices. If you continue to treat this like your personal experiment, you'll be remembered not as a savior, but as the man who doomed us all."
The tent grew silent. Soldiers shifted uneasily, their rifles clinking softly. Even the hum of electronics seemed to hold its breath.
Noah finally looked up, his smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. His voice cut through the tension like a blade.
Noah still calm and sharp,
"If humanity's survival hangs on me alone… then maybe the problem isn't me. Maybe it's the people who were supposed to lead it. Leaders who hide behind soldiers, bark orders from steel chairs, and pray someone else takes the fall."
The generals stiffened, exchanging wary glances. Roland's face flushed with rage.
Roland slamming the table again, leaning forward,
"You insolent brat! Do you think you understand leadership? Responsibility? You act like a lone wolf, but wolves without a pack starve. You want to mock me? Fine. But when the enemy crushes us, your arrogance won't shield you from history's judgment."
Lucianne stepped forward, her fists clenched.
Lucianne firm, voice shaking with anger,
"History won't remember cowards who lecture from tents while others bleed. Noah fights. You don't. Maybe start there, Mr. President."
Roland's jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing into daggers.
"You think I wanted this war? I carry the burden of every man, woman, and child on this planet. And yet, you two treat this council as if we're obstacles in your grand crusade. If Musashi had lost like the two others before him, tell me what excuse would you have offered the graves of billions?"
Noah's smirk widened, his words dripping with quiet disdain.
"No excuses. Just the truth. Humanity won't fall because of me. It'll fall because it puts its faith in men like you. Humanity would not be saved by licking The Grimms boots like you."
The air froze. Soldiers stiffened, unsure if they should draw their weapons.
Roland half-rose from his chair, fists trembling.
"…You insolent-"
But Noah turned his back before the insult could finish, walking out of the tent with Lucianne close behind. His words had cut deeper than any blade, leaving the World President red with fury, his generals silent, and the weight of Noah's words lingering like smoke after fire.